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		<header>
			<h1>So a republic is a type of democracy ...</h1>
			<p>Day 00769: Friday, 2017 April 14</p>
		</header>
<section id="general">
	<h2>General news</h2>
	<p>
		At work today, one group of customers came through drive-through with a cat on their dashboard.
		The cat kept trying to jump out the window, but the driver kept blocking the path.
		It was a little amusing to watch.
	</p>
	<p>
		Every day, we have a few customers that skip the menu board and head straight to our pick-up window.
		Since I&apos;ve started waiting for them to actually read that our drive-through is like any other and they need to go to the menu board like everyone else, their menu board skipping has become uneventful.
		It&apos;s sad that I can&apos;t meet them at the window and let them know what to do next time, but a few of them complain if I do that.
		So since the head manager won&apos;t stand behind me, but still wants me to get the customers to use the menu board, I&apos;m stuck wasting their time until they notice their mistake and correct it themselves.
		Anyway ... one customer today was a little different.
		After waiting at the window for a period, they, instead of reading the sign on the window, decided that the problem must be that our old drive-through bell hadn&apos;t been rung.
		The run-over tube for it lies along the side of the building where it won&apos;t be triggered, so they pulled it out and drove over it.
		Long pause.
		Then they finally figured out to use the menu board.
		I somewhat suspect that they might&apos;ve even read the sign as they got out to move the tube, but that they really didn&apos;t want to go back to the menu board.
		For some reason, many of our customers are resistant to the change for some reason.
		In any case, as they left, I went back out to put the tube back in place.
		We don&apos;t use that any more.
		Also, apparently, back when it <strong>*was*</strong> in use, the sound of the bell going off haunted the dreams of one of my shift leaders.
		We don&apos;t want that to happen again needlessly.
	</p>
	<p>
		My <a href="/a/canary.txt">canary</a> still sings the tune of freedom and transparency.
	</p>
</section>
<section id="university">
	<h2>University life</h2>
	<p>
		As I was reading my assigned text, I found the author claiming that the United Kingdom is a democracy in which they choose politicians to rule over them.
		I was certain that wasn&apos;t a democracy, but a republic, like what we have here in the States.
		Before I submitted any coursework saying as much though, I had to be sure.
		I looked it up on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Republic">Wikipedia</a>. The Wikipedia article had this to say:
	</p>
	<blockquote cite="https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Republic">
		<p>
			In American English, the definition of a republic can also refer specifically to a government in which elected individuals represent the citizen body, known elsewhere as a representative democracy (a democratic republic), and exercise power according to the rule of law (a constitutional republic).
		</p>
	</blockquote>
	<p>
		In other words, we here in the United States are rolling our own definition of a word.
		Again.
		Lame.
		We need to quit doing that, it just makes things confusing.
		That said, I&apos;m failing to grasp the differences between republics and democracies.
		According to Wikipedia:
	</p>
	<blockquote cite="https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Republic">
		<p>
			A republic (Latin: res publica) is a form of government in which the country is considered a &quot;public matter&quot; - not the private concern or property of the rulers - and where offices of state are elected or appointed, rather than inherited.
		</p>
	</blockquote>
	<p>
		Also:
	</p>
	<blockquote cite="https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Democracy">
		<p>
			Democracy (Greek: δημοκρατία, Dēmokratía literally &quot;rule of the commoners&quot;), in modern usage, is a system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives from among themselves to form a governing body, such as a parliament.
		</p>
	</blockquote>
	<p>
		A republic has elected leaders, while a democracy either has elected leaders or citizens participate directly.
		In a republic, the country is considered a public matter.
		In a democracy, the citizens are in control.
		These two seem interchangeable.
		If the running of the country is a public matter, the citizens are in control, and if the citizens are in control, the running of the country is a public matter.
		The only difference I&apos;m seeing is that a democracy doesn&apos;t always have to elect leaders.
		In some democracies, citizens have more direct power.
		So is are republics a subclass of democracies?
		Oops, I guess I should&apos;ve read <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Democracy#Republic">further</a>.
	</p>
	<blockquote cite="https://en.wikipedia.org./wiki/Democracy#Republic">
		<p>
			The term republic has many different meanings, but today often refers to a representative democracy with an elected head of state, such as a president, serving for a limited term, in contrast to states with a hereditary monarch as a head of state, even if these states also are representative democracies with an elected or appointed head of government such as a prime minister.
		</p>
	</blockquote>
</section>
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